China Sets Economic Growth Target of 6.5% to 7% for 2016

Water vapor and smoke rise from a Tonghua Iron & Steel Group Co. plant in the Erdaojiang district in Tonghua, Jilin province, China, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.

Bloomberg News

China has set an economic growth target of between 6.5% and 7% for 2016 and an average of at least 6.5% over the next five years, goals that acknowledge slowing momentum in the world’s second-largest economy but which still could be difficult to reach. As WSJ's Mark Magnier reports:

By adopting a range for the first time in two decades, China has given itself more flexibility in a system where hitting goals set far in advance, regardless of conditions on the ground, remains politically important.

The targets released here on Saturday at the opening of the National People’s Congress, China’s annual parliament, weren’t a surprise given that senior officials from President Xi Jinping on down had flagged them in recent months.

But they underscore that the government continues to prioritize stability, as output in the world’s second-largest economy downshifts faster than expected.

Last year, China’s economy grew 6.9%, its slowest pace in 25 years, compared with the 2015 target of about 7%. This year could bring a new quarter-century low, as traditional growth engines continue to lose traction.